Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Russia: Mineral wool consumption fell by 12.8% year-on-year to 34Mm³ in 2015. Previously, consumption of heat insulation materials grew by 7% per year on average between 2010 and 2014, according to CM PRO. Continued decline in insulation consumption volumes are expected in 2016.

Canada: An Owens Corning fiberglass insulation plant in Edmonton has been ordered to monitor its emissions following a fire in early January 2016. The fire on 4 January 2016 damaged the plant's secondary air scrubber on its insulation batting production line.

Without the second scrubber the plant is contravening its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act approval. A remedial solution to replace the curing oven's secondary air scrubber could take more than six months to implement.

As part of an enforcement order Owens Corning must monitor and notify Alberta Environment and Parks of any significant deviation from normal performance of the primary air emission scrubber on the curing oven. If the plant exceeds any air emission limits then production must immediately stop. Additional monitoring on the curing oven stack, including manual stack surveys, and an approved ambient air-monitoring plan are also required.

US: The Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) announced that SOPREMA has joined the group as a manufacturing member.

"The addition of SOPREMA to both the polyiso industry and the PIMA family reflects the continuing growth of polyiso as North America's insulation product of choice," said Jared Blum, President PIMA. "SOPREMA's construction industry leadership role is well acknowledged and the PIMA Board of Directors looks forward to the active involvement of the company."

SOPREMA joins PIMA's six manufacturing members: Atlas Roofing, Firestone Building Products, GAF, Hunter Panels, Johns Manville and Rmax.

SOPREMA is an international manufacturer that specialises in the development and production of innovative products for waterproofing, insulation, soundproofing and vegetated solutions for the roofing, building envelope and civil engineering sectors.

"SOPREMA is proud to join PIMA and contribute to the energy performance of buildings and the reduction of greenhouse gases as a manufacturer of high-performance insulation boards," said Richard Voyer, Executive Vice-President and CEO of SOPREMA North America.

UK: Around 24t of insulation material was damaged in an overnight after a fire at Knauf Insulation factory in Croesyceiliog, Wales. Three crews of firefighters were called to the fire at 01:22. A spokeswoman for the fire service said the blaze was accidentally caused. The firefighters had put the fire out by 03:31.

US: Kingspan has announced a US$25m investment for its Frederick County, Virginia insulation plant. It plans to add 15 new jobs, buy new equipment and upgrade the facility.

The plant has about 120 employees, according to Ed Bates, a Director of Manufacturing and Technology at Kingspan. "We're moving forward with the project," said Bates. "It's underway and we'll probably complete it in 2017. We've already initiated some hiring and we'll complete the hiring by 2018."

The Frederick County plant is Kingspan's only facility in the US that makes building wraps and insulation. The company, however, has other facilities in North America and around the world.

The uptick in the building industry factored into the expansion, according to Bates. "It's not back at the level it was at its peak in 2006, but we've seen a nice rebound in construction and there's high demand for insulation products due to their energy efficiency," said Bates. "It's a great time to invest."